Sometimes I counsel persons who feel hopeless. I tell them that I will hold their hope for them until they are ready to hold it for themselves. I have always liked that image of holding hope for another person. It respects the genuine difficulty of feeling hopeless, while leaving the door open for hope to return in another and better time. Just so you know, I am not feeling hopeless, but many times in every day brings a hopeless momentāmy hands might shake when I try to thread a needle; my legs might get suddenly weak; I might be very dizzy while cooking dinner; I might fall face-first into the flower bed and fracture my wrist while trimming a shrub. In those times and others like them, I need someone to hold my hope until I can again hold hope for myself!
I have to tell you: I am a pretty strong person that doesnāt yet know how to live my life being unable to trim a bush in my front flower bed! But at the same time, physical deficiencies bring on feelings of hopelessness that take a toll on my soul and spirit. Deep down grief it causes, when you are gradually losing your ability to do something you loved to do in the past. I tell myself that maybe I should admit the losses Iām experiencing and ask a friend to hold my hope until I can hold it for myself. But of course, that would be falling of a pedestal marked āSuper Woman.ā How could I do that?
So on this day, since Ihave been suffering with Covid for six weeks, I turned my thoughts to the subject of emotional and spiritual healing. My thoughts raised the questions of what exactly is the difference between the soul and the spirit, and how in the world would I heal those places inside me?
Hereās my attempt at an answer. Most of us would agree that we consist of body, soul and spirit. In fact, the Bible affirms the existence of all three:
May your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus. (I Thessalonians 5:23)
Ourphysical bodies are fairly evident to us, but our souls and spirits are so much less distinguishable. In the preceding scripture passage, the Greek word for soul is psuche (ĻĻ ĻĪ®), or as we might call it, āpsyche.ā This word āsoulā implies our mind, our will and desires and our emotional responses to life’s situations. Our soul is reflected in our personality. Our soul is our life.
āSpiritā is a completely different word. The Greek word for spirit is pneuma (ĻĪ½ĪµĻĪ¼Ī±). It refers to the part of us that connects with God and receives the breath of life from the Holy Spirit (ĪĪ³Ī¹Īæ ĻĪ½ĪµĻĪ¼Ī±). Our spirit is our breath, the breath that animates and enlivens us from deep within. I like the way theologian David Galston explains it:
āThe soul is life, and the Greek word is psyche. The spirit is breath, and the Greek word is pneuma. Natural confusion exists between the [meaning of the] spirit and the soul . . . both words, in their roots, mean breath. But for the Greeks, there were two kinds of breath: the kind necessary for life, the psyche, and the kind necessary for [our very breath], the pneuma. In modern English, we might distinguish the two as life and energy.ā
I often ask my clients, mentees and friends this question: How is your heart? They almost always understand how their heart is and why. But ask these questions ā How is your soul? How is your spirit? ā and the answers donāt come as easily. Iām not sure exactly why, but I think that, for myself, it is that I am able to know my heart more easily. I am more in touch with it. When I am sorrowful, happy, excited, surprised and I place my hand over my heart, it is as if I have literally touched it, and my heart tells me what emotion is there.
As for my soul and my spirit, well, they are deeper in me. In the innermost places of me, my soul mourns and celebrates and holds all manner of emotions. In my innermost parts, my spirit lies quietly within me, always waiting for the brush of Spirit wind, waiting in stillness for the breath that animates and enlivens.
So what is the lesson here? What is the message from God we need to hear? Believe it or not, itās not complicated. Isnāt it just like God to send us a thoroughly uncomplicated message that we immediately make complicated? Godās bottom line here is easy, simple, and uncomplicated: āGuard your heart, your soul, your spirit . . . all that is within you.ā
From Joshua: āNow, vigilantly guard your souls: Love God, your God.ā
From Deuteronomy: āOnly give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life.ā
From Proverbs: āAbove all, guard your heart with all diligence; for from it flow the wellsprings of life.ā
From 1 Thessalonians: āAnd the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.ā
And thatās it! So I will leave you with just one path that you may choose to follow: the path that leads you deep within yourself to your sacred, quiet place and then implores you to listen for Godās whisper and wait for the breeze of the Spirit. Where? In a beautiful, peaceful place, under a starlit sky, in a quiet room filled with sounds of music. Whatever your experience of loss and lostness, loneliness and isolation, mourning and tears, may you find comfort. Whatever your experience of being unable to hold your own hope, may you find someone who will hold hope for you until you are healed enough to hold it for yourself. And may you hear the sounds of soul and spirit nearby, and perhaps find the brightest hope yet in the words of poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, here turned into beautiful music.
Until another day, hold on to hope, Kathy
Though nothing can bring back the hour Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower; We will grieve not, rather find Strength in what remains behind.
There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream, The earth, and every common sight, To me did seem Apparell’d in celestial light, The glory of a dream.
The rainbow comes and goes, And lovely is the rose; The moon doth with delight Look round her when the heavens are bare; Waters on a starry night Are beautiful and fair; The sunshine is a glorious birth; But yet I know, whereāer I go, That there hath passād away a glory from the earth.
Though nothing can bring back the hour Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower; We will grieve not, rather find Strength in what remains behind.
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of deathā even death on a cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:5-11 NRSV
This is Palm Sunday, of course. This morning I saw proof of that. Proof that today is Palm Sunday was all around my church this morningāthe bright flower arrangement with palm branches as its foundation; the children who processed down the aisles joyfully waving palm branches; the live artist painting beautiful palm branches on her painting; the jubilant singing so filled with āHosannas.ā
But there is more. In many churches, today is called āThe Sunday of the Palm and Passion.ā When we hear the story of Jesus riding a donkey into Jerusalem, greeted by a jubilant crowd shouting āHosanna!ā and waving palm branches, we cannot help but rejoice. But notice also how quickly the cheers of the crowd turned into jeers. Almost instantly, the palm waving stopped and the passion began.
After the green fronds moving gracefully in the breeze become still, we immediately sense passionāthe passion that moved Jesus toward death on the cross, the passion we will see and feel in the week ahead.
In this stained glass window entitled āChrist Crucified,ā one can most definitely see an aura of passion. We see color, shape, movement and light that tells all of the storyāPalm and Passion and everything in between. The window portrays a Black Jesus with arms outstretched, his right hand symbolizing oppression, his left forgiveness. We see pathos in the stained glass artistās symbolism of oppression and forgiveness, and perhaps we interpret it as a message for us: that embracing both oppression and forgiveness creates our fullness of life.
The window was a gift to the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, from the people of Wales, U.K. in 1964. You might remember that on September 15, 1963, the congregation of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama were greeting one another before the start of their Sunday service. In the basement of the church, five young girls, two of them sisters, gathered in the ladies room in their best dresses. It was Youth Day and they were excited about taking part in the Sunday worship service.
Just before 11 oāclock, instead of rising to begin prayers, the congregation was knocked to the ground. As a bomb exploded under the steps of the church, they sought safety under the pews and shielded each other from falling debris. In the basement, four little girls, 14-year-olds Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and 11-year-old Cynthia Wesley, were killed. Addieās sister Sarah survived, but lost her right eye.
There it is. The oppression and forgivenessāThe Passionāthe passion of Christ, the passion that a church family in Birmingham faced in 1963, the passion being endured right now among the people of Ukraine . . . and the passion that at times leaves each of us brokenhearted and despairing.
Yet, I call your attention back to the stained glass window. Of course, it portrays the passion of Christ, but surrounding his image are signs of hope beyond passion. From across the ocean, another country felt the angst of a church in mourning, parents of little girls laid low. I imagine that this extravagant gift from Wales represents hope beyond passion to this very day for the congregation of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church.
The stained glass visually expresses oppression and forgiveness, yet in its vibrant color and light, shouts of hope beyond passion:
Above Christās head, the rainbow colors of his halo.Ā Surrounding him, the large circle of blues that looks like eternity. And Christās handsā his right hand symbolizing oppression and his left, forgiveness.
Whenever we dare to reach down into the soul to find our faith at its very core, we will always find oppression and forgiveness. I think thatās what passion is really about, when all is said and doneāoppression and forgiveness.
A Prayer in Remembrance of Christās Passion
God of Life and Death, Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā As we lean into this holiest of weeks, we will see both, Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Life and Death.
Life in the waving of palms.Ā Life in the cheering of crowd celebrating a king riding a donkey.Ā Life in the washing of feet.Ā Life in the sharing of the supper we call āLast.āĀ Even in the sound of the cock, loudly crowing.Ā
But we sense this feeling of dread, because we know also that this will be a week of death, Even death on a cross.Ā
Comfort us as we relive the death of Jesus, The Passion of Christ. And help us to remember that in life and in death, there is more; There is more oppression and there is more forgiveness, and it brings us hope.
There is so much more . . . After life After death
There are no words enraged enough to write about the horrific devastation in Ukraine!
There are no words angry enough to write about the devastating loss, the despondent people, the frightened children!
There are no words incendiary enough to decry a violent, inhumane Russian military or the power-hungry, evil man that commands them!
There are no words poweful enough to condemn what happened today: that at least 50 people were killed and around 100 injured in a Russian rocket attack on the Kramatorsk train station. The station was being used to evacuate civilians from eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region. At least five children were killed in the attack.
There are not enough words to intercede in prayer and lament for a nation destroyed, with a wasteland left behind. Not enough words to cry out for peace. Not enough words to whisper in mourning for the Ukrainian people and their children who have been killed, wounded, and forced to leave their homeland. When will wars be over?
Of course, butterflies will still be beautiful after war, but what do we do in this season of war? How do we help? How should we pray? Where do we go to search for hope for the despondent people of Ukraine? How do we help repair Ukraineās ruined cities? Of all the sources of hope we could seek, this passage of scripture, Isaiah 61: 1-4, always offers me a sense of new hope amidst devastation.
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lordās favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;
to provide for those who mourn in Zionā to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.
They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.
A PRAYER FOR PEACE FOR THE UKRAINIAN PEOPLE
God of mercy,Ā Prince of Peace help us to listen to your holy voice,Ā a voice that speaks of peace to all people, and in this moment, to the despairing people of Ukraine.
Let the sound of your voice resonate within us,Ā until a whisper becomes a shoutĀ which cannot be ignored.
Move us with your love, so that our actions echo your peace, so that we may offer compassion and comfort to the Ukrainian people, brought low by conflict.
Comfort them, God, with your peace that is beyond understanding, beyond all conflict, stronger than warās destruction.
Fill us with your hope, O Lord, andĀ let peace begin with us.
Quiet the fear and hatred that divides us as we live into your calling to ārepair the ruined citiesā in our world, grace us, in your mercy, with courage and hope, so that we may see beyond the dark clouds of war, a true and lasting peace; so that we may see that beyond destruction, there is restoration; so that we may see that beyond death, there is life everlasting and eternal.
We offer this prayer, O God, with heavy hearts, Lamenting the evils of war, longing for a fresh breeze of peace by Spirit wind, Through Christ our Lord, the eternal Prince of Peace. Amen.
The Prince of Peace with the World in His Arms
Hear this message of peace offered by the Harlem Boysā Choir.
This is a moment to remember and celebrate! By a vote of 53 to 4, we will call a Black woman āJustice!ā The historic pronouncement was made in the United States Senate Chamber by another Black woman, Vice President Kamala Harris.
What a clear picture of the arc of the moral universe bending toward justice! The arc does indeed bend toward all that is right and just. Today the arc bent ever so slightly, yet far enough to cause a nation to celebrate.
This confirmation of soon to be Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is historic for this nation. The first Black woman will serve as a Supreme Court Justice, while her presence will make the Supreme Court look more like America and will more closely reflect the American people.
I stood up from my chair in the living room to join the Democrats who stood to their feet in an extended standing ovation! While we cheered, the Republicans filed out silently, unwilling to offer this highly qualified woman the respect she deserves. I wonder if the fact that they could not get out of there fast enough reflects their shame of how they treated her. I doubt it. I heard this today.
White women have to break glass ceilings. Black women have to break out of a glass cube.
Itās true I think, especially when I consider that soon to be Justice Jackson endured 24 hours of grueling and often disrespectful questioning. She responded to every disparaging question with grace and dignity throughout the long hours. She knew, as women know all too well, that the first would have to be the best. She probably also knew that her ancestors, remembering their centuries of enslavement, encircled her in solidarity and celebration! A cloud of witnesses, witnessing what must look to them like a miracle!
It was not a resounding YES, but it will be a bright day in our history of days!
I tried to remember the name of every person who has prayed for me over the years. I know that every name does not appear in this image of the dove, but all of you, and those I left out, are gifts to me. Thank you all wherever you are.
OThrough eight years of serious illness, dialysis, kidney transplant and all the other areas of my angst, I have heard one very special message again and again from folks I love all over the world. Each person said it to me in a unique way, and remembering their message makes me want to reach out to all of them with deep gratitude. I could never begin to list each of their names, although I tried to in the image of the dove. Their message was a cherished gift . . .
āI need you to survive.ā
During a personal life assessment this past week, I thought a lot about this message I heard so many times. I realized that these might be the most loving words I have ever heard. Hearing the words again moved me to a tender time, one of those times when life and death and mortality somehow come to mind. Truth is, I am able to think about these kinds of life things only in my tender times. This week my favorite doctor, who knows a lot about all things tender, said something to me I wonāt soon forget . . .
āWhen you first came to me five years ago, I didnāt think you would live another five years.ā
Such a statement would most definitely bring to oneās mind all that is important and all that isnāt. Thinking on her words brought me to the tender moment I have needed for quite a while. I lingered there for a few days, hoping to let my soul rest and my spirit begin to see things in a new way.
It isnāt such a bad place to be right now in the midst of Lent. In fact, Lent is the perfect time to pay attention to my soul and spirit. Lent is the perfect time for tender moments and tender thoughts. Lent is the best time to be tender with myself while searching my spirit for the parts of me that must repent and return to God with all my heart. (Joel 2:12)
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24 NRSV
Lent draws me to this psalm and its invitation to God. I might very well need to send this very invitation to God about searching me and knowing me, testing me and knowing my every thought. I come, though, to the part that asks God to see if in me there are āwicked ways.ā Iām not so sure I want to do that. I know there are wicked ways in me that I try my best to keep secret. But this is Lent, and God already knows all about that.
During these Lenten days, be tender with yourself. Take a look at your secret wicked ways, but remember that God sends you the message clearly ā that you are Godās beloved and that you receive the grace of Godās forgiveness even before you utter a single word of repentance. Godās like that, especially in our tender moments.
In your quiet time, listen for even a minute to this music video and celebrate its joyful message. It lifts my heart every time I hear it.
Pentecost ~ Our Lady of Pentecost Catholic Church ~ Quezon City, Philippines
Iām sitting on the front porch watching the birds and the bugs, admiring my flowers and feeling strong gusts of wind blow everything thatās movable and some things that are not so movable. Like my patio chair! I love a rushing wind blowing over me and, always, it reminds me of Pentecost.
Sunday is my favorite Sunday in the church year ā Pentecost Sunday! I hold it as my favorite because I long for Spirit wind in my life ā to move me, change me, fill me, refresh me and set me free. Spirit fills me with passion and sets me on a journey, a mission really, to bring Spirit to those who most need new hope. On the Sunday of Pentecost, I feel as if the wind is ready to blow!
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
This is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
āIn the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,; Ā Ā Ā Ā and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, Ā Ā Ā Ā and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, Ā Ā Ā Ā in those days I will pour out my Spirit; Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā and they shall prophesy.ā
Acts 2:1-4, 16-18
It must have been a shocking surprise, even stunning in its drama. It is no wonder that of all the church seasons, Pentecost has arguably inspired the most stunning art. Artists depict wind, fire, people receiving tongues of fire and all manner of colorful Spirit movement. Pentecost art is filled with movement, unpredictable and free!
Artists ~ Jen Norton, Jennifer Allison, Mark Jennings
No doubt, the artists who create art for the season of Pentecost offer us images of color, vibrancy, movement and freedom. I suppose that these qualities are the ones we want in our own lives, especially movement and freedom. The Spirit Wind that blows through my life and yours brings us that movement and freedom, almost as if Spirit removes the bonds that keep us still and stagnant. Instead āwe live and move and have our beingā* in a God who brings new life when we most need it.
And as for Pentecostal fire, well, we need that, too. It is a Refinerās fire, a holy fire with the power to burn away everything that holds us back and then to put the āfireā of passion in our souls that inspires us to live out the calling and mission of our lives.
The wonderful news of Pentecost is that we do not have to rely on our own limited power. The great news of all Pentecost is the promise we hear in our souls, āThe wind is ready to blow!ā This is the hour for us to be permeated with the courage to run with Pentecostal winds and burn with Pentecostal fire.
Godās Spirit filling means very little to us in the midst of easy days, but in times life these, Spirit within us means everything. In these days of pandemic, police violence, mass shootings, violence in families, hungry children, adults desperate to find work, racial conflict, people marginalized and oppressed, we need to hold on to the promise of holy wind and fire.
As always, we are left with questions:
In the midst of thiskind of world, what can we possibly do?Ā In the midst of my weakness, can I feel the Spirit-wind? In the midst of grief and loss, can I feel the Spirit-wind? In the midst of illness and pain, can I feel the Spirit-wind?
The answer is āYES!ā
Pentecost can come upon us in the darkest of times, in the most impossible of circumstances . . . when only the wind and the fireof Godās Spirit could begin to pull off the miracle of new life. The Prophet Haggai would say to us: āTake courage! For I am with you. My Spirit abides among you.ā
And so I proclaim to us this day, that if we are willing to be moved and changed by Spirit wind and fire, Godās Spirit is able to empower us. Godās Spirit is able to move us from limitedness into new life, togive us courage, to give our tired feet new strength to keep moving forward instead of giving up.
If we are willing, Godās Spirit windisable to breathe life into us. And when our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds and our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, I hope we will remember . . .
That the Spirit of Pentecost will ignite us with a fiery passion that disturbs our complacency.
That the Spirit of Pentecost longs to baptize us again and again and again with Spirit-fire and move us with Spirit-wind.
That the Spirit of Pentecost is able to re-kindle within us the courage to proclaim the Gospel of liberation to the ends of the earth.
One might have been able to hear church bells ringing this morning,Ā eighty times,
in cities and towns across America, to pay homage to his eighty years of life.
Later, the headline read, āThree living presidents came together to honor Congressman John Lewis at his funeral today in Atlanta, Georgia.ā Yes, three presidents spoke words of mourning, and celebration today ā President George W. Bush, President William J Clinton, President Barak Obama. President Jimmy Carter sent his words to be read. So four living United States Presidents honored John Lewis today. A fifth living United States President did not.
Eloquent words were spoken by so many today at Atlantaās historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, which has been known best because of its most famous pastor, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We heard stories, memories, words marked with laughter and tears from friends and family members of John Lewis āĀ Rev. Dr. Bernice King, an activist and Martin Luther King Jr.ās daughter, civil rights pioneer Xernona Clayton, James Lawson, Ā an activist, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, our three living presidents and many others.
Years later, when I was elected a U.S. Senator, I told him that I stood on his shoulders. When I was elected President of the United States, I hugged him on the inauguration stand before I was sworn in and told him I was only there because of the sacrifices he made. And through all those years, he never stopped providing wisdom and encouragement to me and Michelle and our family. We will miss him dearly.
ā President Barak Obama
Americans live in a country that is better today because of John Lewis. John always looked outward, not inward. He always thought of others. He always believed in preaching the gospel, in word and in deed, insisting that hate and fear had to be answered with love and hope. John Lewis believed in the Lord. He believed in humanity, and he believed in America.
ā President George W. Bush
John always kept walking to reach the beloved community. He got into a lot of good trouble along the way, but letās not forget, he developed an absolutely uncanny ability to heal troubled waters. When he could have been angry and determined to cancel his adversaries, he tried to get converts instead. He thought the open hand was better than the clenched fist. He lived by the faith and promise of St. Paul: āLet us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not lose heart.ā He never lost heart. He fought the good fight, he kept the faith, but we got our last letter from him today on the pages of the New York Times. Keep moving. It is so fitting on the day of his service, he leaves us our marching orders: Keep moving.
John Lewis was many things, but he was a man, a friend and sunshine in the storm, a friend who would walk the stony road that he asked you to walk, that would brave the chastening rods he asked you to be whipped by, always keeping his eyes on the prize, always believing none of us would be free until all of us are equal. I just loved him. I always will. And Iām so grateful that he stayed true to form. Heās gone up yonder and left us with marching orders. I suggest since heās close enough to God to keep his eye on the sparrow and on us, we salute, suit up and march on.
ā President Bill Clinton
We come with a flag flown over the Capitol the night that John passed. When this flag flew there, it said goodbye. It waved goodbye to John. Our friend, our mentor, our colleague. This beautiful man that we all had the privilege of serving with. ā Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
Thatās when I cried, as I did many times during the four hours I watched this morning, bearing witness to his life, holding vigil at his glag-draped casket I had watched all week. There is no doubt that moving words were uttered today in that holy place where Beloved Community gathered to mourn John Lewis, but none were more full of heart that the words of Ebenezerās senior pastor, the Rev. Dr. Raphael G. Warnock:
We have come to say goodbye to our friend in these difficult days. Come on, let the nation celebrate, let the angels rejoice … John Lewis, the boy from Troy, the conscience of the Congress.Ā His deeds etched into eternity, heĀ loved America until America learned to love him back.
From 1 Corinthians 15:51-55
Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,Ā In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.Ā For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.Ā O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?Ā
From Revelation 14: 12-13
Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and hold fast to the faith of Jesus.Ā And I heard a voice from heaven saying, āWrite this: Blessed are the dead who from now on die in the Lord.ā āYes,ā says the Spirit, āthey will rest from their labors, for their deeds will follow them.ā
From the works of William Shakespeare
When he shall die,
Take him and cut him out in little stars,
And he will make the face of heaven so fine
That all the world will be in love with night
And pay no worship to the garish sun.
I cried today, but I laughed a lot, too. I sang a little and ā though I did not rise to my feet to dance in celebration of his life well-lived ā I still celebrated more than I mourned, because thatās what John Lewis would do. In the end I laughed out loud at the image of mourners dancing their way out of the sanctuary, following the casket, and being glad that John Lewis loved dancing to the music of āHappy Feet!ā
Why donāt we all dance our way to Beloved Community!
May God make it so!
Rest in Peace, John Lewis. Rest in Celebration. We got this!
No doubt, the artists who create art for the season of Pentecost offer us images of color, vibrancy, movement and freedom. I suppose that these qualities are the ones we want in our own lives, especially movement and freedom. The Spirit Wind that blows through my life and yours brings us that movement and freedom, almost as if Spirit removes the bonds that keep us still and stagnant. Instead āwe live and move and have our beingā* in a God who brings new life when we most need it.
God of the Sparrow š± By Kathy Manis Findley 